Prescribed Fire Practitioner Karyn Smoot, who uses they/she pronouns, was born in San Francisco and grew up appreciating the flora and fauna found in and around the city. They received their undergraduate degree in 2013 from the University of Oregon in ethnic studies, environmental studies, and Chinese language. Before working in fire, they spent nine years as a worker-owner of Rainbow Grocery Cooperative, and an organizer against displacement. Karyn started their journey with fire by attending prescribed fire training exchange (TREX) events from the Klamath River basin to the central coast of California. They gained more local fire knowledge with the Good Fire Alliance and as a forest stewardship intern with Santa Rosa Junior College's Wildfire Resiliency Program. Most recently, they have worked as a crew member on The Nature Conservancy's Prescribed Fire Modules on burns in Idaho, Georgia, and New Mexico. With deep family roots in California, Karyn has found purpose in understanding and stewarding the landscapes that sustained her ancestors for four generations, and California Native peoples since time immemorial. As an uninvited guest on these lands, Karyn is excited to practice stewardship in solidarity with indigenous communities who are reclaiming and restoring lands locally and around the world.